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Prologue
Sophia
11 years ago…
There are no charming princes here. No white knights. No hope.
Only boys. Scared. Angry. Desperate little boys.
I might almost feel bad for them, if I didn’t already feel so much worse for myself.
“Have you made your choice yet, princess?” Father asks. He paces back and forth behind me, his footsteps heavy and filled with warning.
Don’t pick the wrong boy, dear daughter, or else…
“What are their names?” I manage to ask through the nerves gripped tightly around my throat.
Instantly, I know it was the wrong thing to say—I already know the answer.
“It doesn’t matter,” Retsos growls in response, ever impatient. My father’s top lieutenant isn’t happy. This is child’s play. Literally. Even if we are choosing his next disciple, I know he’d rather be out on the killing floor drawing blood instead of in here, slowly choosing which damned soul to claim.
“It matters very much,” Father responds, curtly. For most people, a disagreement with my father could be life-ending—he’s the Godfather of the Night, after all. Leader of the Xiphias family. My family. The oldest recorded Greek mafia organization anyone knows of. And from the day I was old enough to listen, I’ve been told that there is only one reason for it.
We are ruthless.
Those who disagree with our ways are not given the benefit of the doubt. We do not spare anyone. We do not tolerate dissention.
We kill. We murder. And we dominate.
Men know to keep their mouths shut around my father. But Retsos isn’t just any man. He’s wormed his way into an untouchable position. The only untouchable amongst all of my father’s dark legions.
… Why did it have to be him?
I get chills every time he’s in the room. It’s the way he looks at me with those reptilian eyes… like I could be his next meal, if only he didn’t have to suck up to my father.
He’s evil and cruel and petty—and as much as I hate to admit it, that’s probably exactly why he’s been able to climb so high so fast.
My father loves men like him. He needs men like him.
If I was queen, though, I’d get rid of him in a flash.
But I won’t be queen for a very long time…
“Give the girl some time,” Castor bravely speaks up, launching his booming voice towards Retsos. “This is a big decision. And it’s her first. There is no hurry. Sophia will grow into a mighty leader someday, but today is not that day. Unless you’re just itching to be bossed around by a nine-year-old girl?”
“As if I’d ever take orders from her…” Retsos snaps back. But even he knows not to test Castor too hard—at least, not when it comes to me.
My hulking bodyguard won’t hesitate to kill in my name—even if that means throwing himself at an untouchable—and Retsos knows that.
Castor is the only reassuring presence in this claustrophobic room. He’s been my protector since the day I was born. Maybe even before that.
From what I’ve heard, the responsibility of my physical safety was assigned to him while I was still in Mama’s womb, and he gladly accepted the task—even though he knew it would cost him the chance to be an untouchable, to be in Retsos spot.
He gave up so much power to make sure that my gilded cage was well-padded and stocked full of all of the most fantastical books. My favorite kind of books.
He’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a friend. And despite his sacrifices, Castor has always done his job like a true soldier. He’s the only person I’ve ever felt truly safe around—an uncle who protects me from the darkness that my father refuses to hide.
Though, maybe he shouldn’t have kept me so well-guarded
